Chapter 9 - Nursery Stock
CHAPTER 9 - NURSERY STOCK
11-9-101. Definitions.
(a) As used in W.S. 11-9-101 through 11-9-109:
(i) "Nursery" means any ground, place orestablishment where nursery stock is grown, offered for sale, sold, distributedor is offered as part of a landscape service;
(ii) "Nursery stock" means:
(A) All field-grown, greenhouse-grown or collected wild stockof woody plants such as fruit, forest, windbreak, shade and ornamental trees,shrubs or vines for fruit production, ornamental or protective plantings andherbaceous perennials used as ornamentals;
(B) All plants, rooted cuttings and plants with roots attachedgrown from bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes or other vegetative parts, whetherproduced out-of-doors or under glass and whether grown in open ground or inbenches, boxes, pots or other containers;
(C) All bulbs, corms, pips, rhizomes, tubers, roots, cuttings,scions, grafts or other vegetative parts of plants; and
(D) All ground cover, including sod, plugs and vegetativemulches and compost.
(iii) "Nursery stock" shall not include prohibited,restricted, regulated or designated noxious weeds;
(iv) "Nursery stock dealers" means any person whoobtains nursery stock to be offered for sale or distribution;
(v) "Nursery stock salesman" means any personselling, distributing or soliciting orders for delivery of nursery stockdirectly to the ultimate consumer from a supply on hand at a location otherthan a nursery stock dealer's place of business;
(vi) "Injurious insect" means any animal of the phylumArthropoda known to be injurious to agricultural or horticultural plants;
(vii) "Other pest" means any animal of the phylaMollusca or Nematoda or parasitic plant, plant parasite or other vector knownto be injurious to agricultural or horticultural plants;
(viii) "Plant disease" means any fungi, bacteria, orvirus injurious to plants and plant products;
(ix) "Plant inspection or health certificate" means alegal document issued by the department or the plant regulatory agency ofanother state declaring that the nursery stock being sold or distributed isapparently free of injurious insects, plant diseases, other pests andprohibited, restricted, regulated or designated noxious weeds;
(x) "Vector" means an insect, plant or other organismthat transmits an insect, fungus, virus, bacterium or other infection;
(xi) "Designated noxious weed" means as defined inW.S. 11-5-102(a)(xi);
(xii) "Substantially free" means any injurious insect,other pest or plant disease is not locatable in groups or not affecting morethan one percent (1%) of the nursery stock.
(b) These definitions do not include cut Christmas trees, cutflowers, seeds, seed potatoes or plant parts grown or offered for consumptionas human food or as feed for animals.
(c) Age, when stated on any advertisement, label or sign inconnection with the sale or offering for sale or distribution of nursery stock,shall be stated in years from time at which such nursery stock was propagatedand each shall indicate the completion in autumn of one (1) seasonal growthperiod.
11-9-102. License requirements and fees for dealers and salesmen;disposition of fees.
(a) No person shall engage in the business of selling, offeringfor sale or distributing nursery stock within Wyoming without first obtaining alicense from the state department of agriculture. The fee for a license shallbe the fee authorized by W.S. 11-1-104.
(b) Upon application for a resident nursery stock dealerlicense and payment of the required fee, the director, or an authorizedinspector shall inspect the premises and stock of the applicant and shall issuethe license if the inspection shows the premises and stock to be substantiallyfree or apparently free from injurious insects, plant diseases or other pestsand free of prohibited, restricted, regulated or designated noxious weeds.
(c) If the inspection reveals the premises or stock not to besubstantially free or apparently free of injurious insects, plant diseases,other pests or prohibited, restricted, regulated or designated noxious weeds,the nursery stock shall be removed or quarantined from sale and a written planof action to remedy the condition by treatment, control actions or destructionshall be presented to the inspector within one (1) working day. The nurseryshall be inspected again within a time agreed upon by the director, or hisauthorized agent, and the dealer and noted in writing on the plan, but no laterthan fifteen (15) days after the previous inspection. Upon subsequentinspection the nursery stock shall be substantially free or apparently free fromthe injurious insects, plant diseases and other pests and free from prohibited,restricted, regulated or designated noxious weeds in order to be released forsale. Failure to comply with this subsection shall subject the dealer to thepenalties provided in W.S. 11-9-108 or 11-9-109.
(d) No person shall act as a nursery stock salesman withoutfirst securing a license from the state department of agriculture. The fee fora license shall be the fee authorized by W.S. 11-1-104.
(e) No nonresident shall sell, take orders to sell, offer forsale or distribute nursery stock which has been grown outside this statewithout first securing a license from the department of agriculture. Thelicense fee for each establishment shipping nursery stock into Wyoming shall bethe fee authorized by W.S. 11-1-104. No license shall be granted to anonresident unless the applicant agrees to furnish with each shipment ofnursery stock an affidavit stating that the nursery stock to be sold, offeredfor sale or transported into Wyoming has been inspected by the proper state,district or county officials of the state of origin and found free frominjurious insects, plant diseases and prohibited, restricted, regulated ordesignated noxious weeds.
(f) Licenses granted to nursery stock dealers or salesmenexpire on March 31 of each year. All license fees collected shall be depositedin the general fund.
(g) Charitable and educational institutions shall be exemptfrom licensing requirements imposed by this section.
11-9-103. Right of entry of authorized persons for inspection.
The director, or his authorized agents,during reasonable business hours, may enter upon or into any premises, lands,establishments or places in this state where they suspect that injuriousinsects, other pests, plant diseases or prohibited, restricted, regulated ordesignated noxious weeds occur for the purpose of inspecting, controlling orexterminating insects or diseases or otherwise carrying out the provisions ofW.S. 11-9-101 through 11-9-109.
11-9-104. Shipping inspection certificate; health certificate; publiccarriers not to accept stock without affidavit.
(a) Any person receiving directly or indirectly any nurserystock which is not accompanied by a valid shipping inspection certificate shallnotify the department of the arrival of such stock, the kinds and amounts ofthe stock, and the name of the consignor, and shall hold the stock untilinspected and released by the department.
(b) Public carriers shall not accept for shipment nursery stockthat does not bear a proper affidavit showing apparent freedom from injuriousinsect, plant diseases, other pests and prohibited, restricted, regulated ordesignated noxious weeds.
(c) Any person shipping, selling or distributing nursery stockfrom out of state shall furnish with each shipment of nursery stock a plantinspection or health certificate stating that the nursery stock to be sold,offered for sale or distributed into Wyoming has been inspected and issued aplant inspection or health certificate by the state of origin.
(d) Resident nursery stock dealers shall request an inspectionof any nursery stock to be shipped out of Wyoming. An annual inspection shallbe sufficient for the purposes of this subsection. The department shall issuea plant inspection or health certificate after inspection by the department ofthe premises and nursery stock.
11-9-105. Nursery stock for sale; condition generally.
(a) All nursery stock sold or offered for sale shall be in asound, healthy condition and shall be stored and displayed under conditionswhich will maintain its vigor. Nursery stock which is dead or so seriouslyweakened that it will not grow with normal vigor when given reasonable careshall not be sold or offered for sale.
(b) All nursery stock to be sold, offered for sale ordistributed shall be substantially free or apparently free of any injuriousinsects, plant diseases, other pests or prohibited, restricted, regulated ordesignated weeds.
11-9-106. Sale of nursery stock; labels required; identification ofstock.
(a) All nursery stock offered for sale, sold, distributed ortransported in Wyoming shall be labeled plainly and legibly, either by commonor botanical names. When grade-size classifications are declared, they must bein compliance with those established by the department.
(b) Nursery stock on display for sale may be labeled by asuitable sign on a block of stock of the same kind and species. In order toproperly identify nursery stock being delivered or transported to anypurchaser, at least one (1) label bearing the botanical or common name, orboth, shall be attached to each separate species or variety, except whendelivered to the purchaser on the premises and sold from a block of stocklabeled with a suitable sign.
11-9-107. Rules and regulations by director of agriculture;objections.
The director may issue and enforce rules,regulations and definitions to implement the provisions of W.S. 11-9-101through 11-9-109, subject to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
11-9-108. Cease and desist orders; quarantine; confiscation;destruction or removal of nursery stock; hearing; final orders; enforcement.
(a) The department is authorized to issue cease and desistorders to any nursery stock dealer, quarantine any place of nursery stockbusiness or order confiscation, destruction or removal from the state, of anynursery stock the department determines poses a serious risk of introducing orspreading injurious insects, plant diseases, other pests or prohibited, restricted,regulated or designated noxious weeds within the state.
(b) All notices and orders required to be served by thedepartment under this article shall be served by certified mail, return receiptrequested, to the last known address of the nursery stock dealer or may beserved as provided by the Wyoming rules of civil procedure. The notice of anorder issued by the department under this article shall include:
(i) A statement of the grounds for issuing the order, includinga citation of the statute or rule involved;
(ii) A statement of the supporting facts;
(iii) A statement informing the nursery stock dealer subject tothe order of the right to a hearing on the order before the director, right ofappeal of any subsequent order in accordance with the Wyoming AdministrativeProcedure Act and that failure to timely request a hearing shall result in theorder becoming final; and
(iv) A copy of the order.
(c) A request for a hearing on a proposed order issued by thedepartment under this article shall be in writing and shall be submitted to thedirector no later than seven (7) days after receipt of the notice from thedepartment. The director shall hold the hearing not later than fifteen (15)days after receipt of the request for hearing, unless the nursery stock dealersubject to the proposed order requests an extension of time for good causeshown.
(d) A hearing on a proposed order issued under this articleshall be a contested case hearing conducted in accordance with the WyomingAdministrative Procedure Act. After the hearing, the director shall issuefindings of fact and conclusions of law and a final decision either confirmingor dismissing the proposed order. The director shall confirm a proposed orderonly if the director finds by a preponderance of the evidence that groundsexist under this article for issuing the proposed order. Otherwise, thedirector shall dismiss the proposed order. If the director confirms a proposedorder it shall become a final order.
(e) The department shall serve a final order upon the nurserystock dealer who is the subject of the order. The final order shall takeeffect upon service and shall remain in effect until the department or a courtof competent jurisdiction terminates the final order. The nursery stock dealerwho is the subject of the final order may appeal the issuance of the finalorder in accordance with Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
(f) On or after the effective date of a final order under thisarticle, the attorney general, upon request from the department, may apply tothe district court of the county in which the nursery is located or the countywhere the violations of this article occurred, for enforcement of the finalorder.
11-9-109. Penalty for violation of provisions.
(a) Any person who violates any provision of W.S. 11-9-101through 11-9-109 or any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto is guilty ofa misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars($750.00) for each offense, and may have any license issued to them under suchstatutes suspended or revoked. Each day shall constitute a separate violation.
(b) Any person found guilty of violating any provision of W.S.11-9-101 through 11-9-109, shall reimburse the state for the cost of any treatments,control actions, quarantine, confiscation, destruction or removal of anynursery stock from the state resulting from the violation. Amounts collectedunder this subsection shall be paid to the department of agriculture technicalservices division account.